Jan. 14, 2015
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In 2015, The Catholic University of America Benjamin T. Rome School of Music celebrates its 50th Anniversary. As part of its anniversary season the School of Music has numerous special performances planned.
On Sunday, April 12, the music school returns to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Concert Hall with a full orchestral and choral program that includes current students as well as alumni, and features the world premiere of an orchestral fanfare by CUA undergraduate student Matthew Yost to open the concert. The program also includes Carmina Burana and selections from West Side Story and Rodeo .
Beginning in January the Piano Division will present a series of eight recitals of the complete cycle of 32 Beethoven Piano Sonatas, performed in chronological order by students and faculty in the Ward Recital Hall on the CUA campus and again in Rockville, Md., and Fairfax, Va., at Jordan Kitt Music. Three special performances of selected Sonatas will be held at the Levine School of Music, the National Portrait Gallery, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
On Feb. 20, the Composition Division will present the world premiere of a 14-movement work for string quartet depicting the 14 "Stations of the Cross." Commissioned especially for the 50th Anniversary, each movement is written by a different composer from the Catholic University community, including faculty, students, and alumni. The premiere will take place during a Devotional Stations of the Cross Service celebrated by Msgr. Peter Vaghi at the Church of the Little Flower in Bethesda, Md.
The spring also features performances by the CUA Symphony Orchestra of the works of Polish composer and CUA honorary doctorate recipient Henryk Gorecki and Verdi's Rigoletto performed by CUA's Vocal Performance Division as well as concerts and workshops presented for Catholic area honor band and vocal high school students. In addition, an ongoing Sight and Sound exhibit of the School of Music's history will be held at the May Gallery of the John K. Mullen of Denver Memorial Library titled "50 Years in Sound, Pictures and Publications."
The celebration continues in September when the School of Music presents a concert and lecture titled "The Music of Faith in Times of War: Musical Treasures from Mid-17th Century Vienna." Based on the research of CUA Associate Professor Andrew H. Weaver, the performance features works for choir and vocal soloists, many of which have not been performed since the 17th century.
The Musical Theatre Division presents Frank Loesser's musical Most Happy Fella Oct. 22-25. The CUA Symphony Orchestra will perform the works of Aaron Copland, who received an honorary degree from CUA in 1979. The Nov. 22 concert features Appalachian Spring and Rodeo .
The 50th Anniversary year culminates with the U.S. premiere of choral works discovered by esteemed alumnus Rev. Piotr Nawrot, in a program titled "Seventeenth-Century Sacred and Liturgical Music from the Bolivian Rain Forests" which will be held at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on Nov. 7.
All performances as part of the 50th Anniversary Celebration are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. For more information or to reserve tickets visit CUA's website www.music.cua.edu or call 202-319-5414. Tickets for the 50th Anniversary Gala at the Kennedy Center are Orchestra: $30 for adults, $15 for students, seniors, military; 1st and 2nd tiers: center $15, sides $10; and are available at the Kennedy Center box office, online at www.kennedy-center.org or by calling 202-467-4600.
Considered the pre-eminent center for music study and performance in U.S. Catholic higher education, The Catholic University of America has long been committed to educating musicians, scholars, and composers. In 1927, the University began offering music courses off campus. The music department moved onto the campus in 1950, becoming the School of Music in 1965, and was renamed the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music in 1984, in honor of alumnus, trustee emeritus, and longtime friend and benefactor, the late Benjamin T. Rome. Dean John Paul and his successors Thomas Mastroianni, Elaine R. Walter, the late Marilyn Neeley, Murry Sidlin, and Grayson Wagstaff have shaped a school where performance and scholarship receive equal attention to benefit undergraduate and graduate students who come from across the globe. The School of Music is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music and is Washington, D.C.'s only university school of music. Today it offers 30 distinct curricula, with degrees of Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Arts in Music, Master of Arts, Master of Music, Master of Music in Sacred Music, Doctor of Musical Arts, Doctor of Musical Arts in Sacred Music, and Doctor of Philosophy. Students have the opportunity to work with an impressive faculty of artists and scholars and participate in master classes offered by some of the world's most respected performers. The school also maintains a three-decade long emphasis on Latin American culture through its Latin American Center for Graduate Studies in Music, which was one of the first of its kind in the nation, as well as the Institute of Sacred Music and the international Centre for Ward Method Studies in Gregorian chant. More than 2,000 CUA music alumni currently maintain high professional visibility on six continents as performers, music educators, composers, liturgical musicians, and scholars. The Benjamin T. Rome School of Music is recognized for perpetuating the Catholic Church's historical role in uplifting the human spirit through the study and performance of music.
50TH ANNIVERSARY PERFORMANCE VENUES
The Catholic University of America 620 Michigan Ave., N.E. Washington, D.C. www.music.cua.edu or 202-319-5414• Hartke Theatre• May Gallery, Mullen Library• Great Room, Edward J. Pryzbyla University Center• St. Vincent's Chapel• Ward Recital Hall
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Crypt Church 400 Michigan Ave., N.E., Washington, D.C.www.nationalshrine.com or 202-526-8300
Church of the Little Flower 5607 Massachusetts Ave., Bethesda, Md.www.lfparish.org or 301-320-4528 Kennedy Center Concert Hall 2700 F St., N.W., Washington, D.C.www.kennedy-center.org or 202-467-4600
Jordan Kitt Music Fairfax 8500 Lee Hwy, Fairfax, Va.703-573-6070Jordan Kitt Music Rockville12303 Twinbrook Parkway, Rockville, Md. 301-770-9081www.jordankitts.com
Levine School of Music Lang Concert Hall 2801 Upton St., N.W., Washington, D.C. www.levinemusic.org or 202-686-8000
Smithsonian American Art Museum 8th and F streets, N.W., Washington, D.C. www.americanart.si.edu or 202-633-1000
National Portrait Gallery 8th and F streets, N.W., Washington, D.C. www.npg.si.edu 202-633-8300
PRESS CONTACTS: CUA School of Music 50th AnniversaryPatty Laing, press representative703-298-4453 or pattylaing@verizon.net
CUA Office of Public AffairsKatie Lee, director of communications202-319-6975 or leect@cua.edu
All performances are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.
Jan. 12 - NSO in your Neighborhood, Hartke Theatre, 7:30 p.m., free and open to the public but tickets required.The National Symphony Orchestra and its Music Director Christoph Eschenbach present a free all-Mozart program including the Overture to The Marriage of Figaro and Symphony No. 41 ("Jupiter").
Jan. 16 - Beethoven Piano Sonata Series Special Concert, Levine School of Music Lang Concert Hall, 7 p.m. Sonatas 4, 16, 32 Nizhegorodtseva (Op. 7), Patcheva (Op. 31/1), Labazevitch (Op. 111)
Jan. 18 - Beethoven Piano Sonata Series, Sonatas 1-4 , Jordan Kitt Music, Fairfax, Va., 3 p.m.Jan. 20 - Beethoven Piano Sonata Series, Sonatas 1-4 , Ward Recital Hall, 8 p.m.Litzelman (Op. 2/1), Solounias (Op. 2/2), Pu (Op. 2/3), Nizhegorodtseva (Op. 7 "Grand Sonata")
Jan. 24 - All Catholic High School Honor Band, Pryzbyla Great Room, all day.
Feb. 1 - Beethoven Piano Sonata Series, Sonatas 5-8 , Jordan Kitt Music, Rockville, Md., 3 p.m.Feb. 3 - Beethoven Piano Sonata Series, Sonatas 5-8 , Ward Recital Hall, 8 p.m.Hurst (Op. 10/1), Blair (Op. 10/2), Tafaro (Op. 10/3), Labazevitch (Op.13 "Pathétique")
Feb. 20 - Stations of the Cross , Church of the Little Flower, Bethesda, Md., 7:30 p.m.The Composition Division presents the world premiere of a 14-movement work for string quartet depicting the 14 Stations of the Cross. Commissioned expressly for the anniversary, each movement has been written by a different composer from the Catholic University community, including students, faculty, staff, and alumni. The premiere will take place during a Devotional Stations of the Cross Service celebrated by Monsignor Peter Vaghi, CUA trustee and pastor.
Feb. 22 - Beethoven Piano Sonata Series, Sonatas 9-12 , Jordan Kitt Music, Fairfax, Va., 3 p.m.Mar. 3 - Beethoven Piano Sonata Series, Sonatas 9-12 , Ward Recital Hall, 8 p.m.Spence (Op. 14/1), Song (Op. 14/2), Kim (Op. 22), Howard (Op. 26 "Funeral March")
Feb. 28 - All Catholic High School Honor Choir, Hartke Theatre, all day.
March 1 - CUA Symphony Orchestra, Music of Henryk Gorecki , Church of the Little Flower, Bethesda, Md., 4 p.m.
March 19-22 - Rigoletto , Hartke Theatre, tickets required.Verdi's masterpiece is presented by CUA's Vocal Performance Division.
March 22-May 18 - Sights and Sounds Exhibit, 50 Years in Sound, Pictures and Publications, May Gallery, Mullen Library.
March 29 - Beethoven Piano Sonata Series, Sonatas 13-16 , Jordan Kitt Music, Rockville, Md., 3 p.m.April 14 - Beethoven Piano Sonata Series, Sonatas 13-16 , Ward Recital Hall, 8 p.m.Pileggi (Op. 27/1), Billion (Op. 27/2 "Moonlight"), Zhu (Op. 28 "Pastoral"), Patcheva (Op. 31/1)
April 12 - 50th Anniversary Gala Concert, Kennedy Center Concert Hall, 8 p.m., tickets required.CUA Symphony Orchestra, Musical theatre majors, CUA combined choruses and soloists.Program includes the World premiere of CUA undergraduate student Matthew Yost's winning orchestral fanfare composition Ut Sol, Ut Luna ; Aaron Copland's "Saturday Night Waltz" and "Hoe-Down" from Rodeo ; Leonard Bernstein's "I Feel Pretty," "Jet Song," "America" and "Tonight Quintet" from West Side Story Concert Suite No. 2; and Carl Orff's Carmina Burana . Tickets for the 50th Anniversary Gala at the Kennedy Center are Orchestra: $30 for adults, $15 for students, seniors, military; First and 2nd tiers: center $15, sides $10; and are available at the Kennedy Center box office, online at www.kennedy-center.org or by calling 202-467-4600; or through contributions made to the CUA School of Music.
Sept. 13 - Beethoven Piano Sonata Series, Sonatas 17- 21 , Jordan Kitt Music, Fairfax, Va., 3 p.m.Sept. 15 - Beethoven Piano Sonata Series, Sonatas 17-21 , Ward Recital Hall, 8 p.m.Nieto (Op. 31/2 "Tempest"), Nyberg (Op. 31/3 "The Hunt"), Yi (Op. 49/1), Schuberg (Op. 49/2), Kuehler (Op. 53 "Waldstein")
Sept. 20 - Beethoven Piano Sonata Series Special Concert, National Portrait Gallery, 4 p.m. Sonatas 14, 17, 21, 29 , Billion (Op. 27/2 "Moonlight"), Nieto (Op. 31/2 "Tempest"), Kuehler (Op. 53 "Waldstein"), Tafaro (Op. 106 "Hammerklavier")
Sept. 26 - "The Music of Faith in Times of War: Musical Treasures from Mid-17th Century Vienna," St. Vincent's Chapel, 7:30 p.m. This illustrated musicology lecture and concert based on the research of Associate Professor Andrew H. Weaver will discuss how the emperor used music to successfully navigate through a disastrous war, revealing an inspirational story of the power of music and the Catholic faith. The performance features works for choir and vocal soloists, many of which have not been performed since the 17th century.
Oct. 4 - Beethoven Piano Sonata Series, Sonatas 22-26 , Jordan Kitt Music, Rockville, Md., 3 p.m.Oct. 6 - Beethoven Piano Sonata Series, Sonatas 22-26 , Ward Recital Hall, 8 p.m.Labazevitch (Op. 54), Santana (Op. 57 "Appassionata," and Op. 78 "A Thérèse), LaMastra (Op. 79), Kuehler (Op. 81a "Les Adieux")
Oct. 11 - Beethoven Piano Sonata Series Special Concert, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 3 p.m. Sonatas 23, 28, 31 32, Santana (Op. 57 "Appassionata,"), Fitenko (Op. 101), Kaltchev (Op. 110), Patcheva (Op. 111), (americanart.si.edu)
Oct. 22-25 - Most Happy Fella, Hartke Theatre, tickets required.The Musical Theatre Division presents Frank Loesser's beloved musical, which premiered on Broadway in 1956.
Nov. 7 - "Sacred and Liturgical Music of the Baroque from the Bolivian Rain Forests," Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Crypt Church, 7 p.m.The combined University choruses and members of the CUA Symphony Orchestra present the U.S. premiere of choral works discovered by priest, scholar, editor, professor, conductor, and esteemed alumnus Rev. Piotr Nawrot (M.L.M. 1988, D.M.A. 1993).
Nov. 8 - Beethoven Piano Sonata Series, Sonatas 27-29 , Jordan Kitt Music, Fairfax, Va., 3 p.m.Nov. 10 - Beethoven Piano Sonata Series, Sonatas 27-29, Ward Recital Hall, 8 p.m. Gorman (Op. 90), Fitenko (Op. 101), Tafaro (Op. 106 "Hammerklavier")
Nov. 15 - Beethoven Piano Sonata Series, Sonatas 30-32, Jordan Kitt Music, Rockville, Md., 3 p.m.Nov. 23 - Beethoven Piano Sonata Series, Sonatas 30-32, Ward Recital Hall, 8 p.m.Nieto (Op. 109), Kaltchev (Op. 110), Patcheva (Op. 111)
Nov. 22 - CUA Symphony Orchestra, Music of Aaron Copland . The CUA Symphony Orchestra presents a concert of the music of Aaron Copland, who received an honorary degree from CUA in 1979. The concert will feature Appalachian Spring and Rodeo in addition to other works by this beloved American composer.